Tesco is facing Britain's largest ever equal pay claim and a possible compensation bill of up to 4 billion pounds (C$7 billion), according to a law firm which has begun legal proceedings. It comes as a campaign for equal pay grows in the U.K.

Members of Unifor Local 114, working for the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, B.C., voted Aug. 20 to strike if the employer refuses to bargain a fair deal by Sept.1, when the current contract expires, said the union.

"Other hotels in B.C. have signed onto a pattern agreement, but the Hotel Grand Pacific refuses to join the norm," said Jerry Dias, Unifor national president. "Local 114 members deserve what other hotel workers have achieved, so the Grand Pacific is risking a major customer service interruption to buck the trend."

The union is seeking the Unifor hotel pattern agreement on term, eco-transit, domestic violence leave, and wages. Unifor negotiators said that if the pattern cannot be reached by Sept. 1, strike action could commence and disrupt the hotel's operations on the long weekend.

"There is a clear and established path towards a new collective agreement so the Grand Pacific has a choice," said Mario Santos, Unifor national representative and lead negotiator in the talks. "The employer can choose to give its workers what is the norm in the hotel industry, or it can begin a service disruption on a busy long weekend."